For a show that is so massive and has such high stakes, six episodes are really too few for it to leave as big an impression as intended. Citadel is still a really fun show and possibly just an opening for something much larger, the Citadel Spyverse, but we wish there was just a little more to make it wholesome. Still, we have more spies to look forward to, and we will definitely be looking forward to the return of Nadia and Maison soon enough.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In Episode 6?
Mason, Carter, and Nadia are taken by Manticore agents to give Dahlia what she needs in order to get Aasha, Nadia’s (and Mason’s) daughter, back. In a submarine in the Pacific Ocean, there are five nuclear missiles, and Dahlia wants the cores for Manticore. The problem is that even with the codes that Bernard gave her, she needs Mason to enter the submarine because it is bio-locked with his data. Until he gets the cores to her, Aasha remains with Manticore. Dahlia sends her right-hand man, Davik, to retrieve the cores from Mason and leaves him to die in the ocean. Mason is successful in getting them into the submarine, but of course, Davik has his own plans. Instead of collecting the cores, he sends Mason flying and crashing into the fin of the submarine with his parachute still attached to him. Mason is unconscious, but Davik thinks he’s dead. Davik knows that Dahlia was the one who killed his brother, and so he launches the missiles, all aimed at the Manticore family headquarters. Davik wants an important position on the inside of Manticore, and he clearly tells Deahlia that if she is willing to give him that, he will stop the attacks.
On the other hand, Nadia kills all the Manticore agents on the plane they arrived on and jumps down herself. Carter is successful at waking Mason up by screaming through his earphones. Mason finds Davik and attempts to fight him, but he can’t take the shot because he’s still Kyle. Nadia arrives in time and knocks Davik unconscious. She quickly proceeds to get the cores as Mason keeps watch over Davik. She’s successful at getting the cores at the last minute. Davik wakes up again, and Mason puts a knife through him. They escape together, and it almost feels like old times. They arrive in Valencia, where Manticore has held Aasha hostage to make the trade. They give them the cores, and the Manticore agent realizes that there is another code required to unlock the cores. Carter shoots the guy who’s holding Aasha over the bridge, and Mason catches her from falling to her death. Nadia and Aasha finally unite after eight years. Dahlia, on the other hand, realizes her failure will have strong consequences and escapes just before her house is blown up (obviously, she’s a survivor). Is it possible Dahlia will become a bigger antagonist? Or will she try to join Mason to save herself from Manticore? Now, she’s truly all alone.
Why Did Mason Join Hands With Dahlia?
Finally, Mason is reunited with Hendrix and Abby, and he’s thrilled to see them. Nadia, not so much, as she realizes that this is what she missed out on. Carter has a backup of Mason’s vial (why not? He’s the coolest spy of them all, right?). Mason is able to inject himself.
Thirty years ago, in Serbia, a young boy sat and waited for his father, who had died in a bombing attack. This boy then moves to Oregon to live with his grandmother in the hopes that his mother will come to see him, but she’s never coming back for him. The boy grows up feeling abandoned and without an identity. He becomes Mason Kane. Eight years ago, Mason became obsessed with finding Nadia after she left him because he lied to her. Mason, who thought he knew himself, didn’t really know what he was doing by lying to the love of his life before it was too late. His obsession led him to Dahlia, who could easily find Nadia for him. Dahlia owed Mason a favor because she had told him once that he just needed to say the word, and she would help him. The big reveal: Dahlia is Mason’s mother, and Thomas was his father. When Thomas died, Dahlia abandoned Mason, and he became a Citadel spy to feel accepted and a part of something larger.
Mason used to watch something when he was younger where the person gets surgery and becomes new. Mason thinks the Citadel gave him the opportunity to be a new person. Dahlia is happy to find Nadia for Mason because he says she’s his wife (dude, enough with the lying), but she also gives Mason a vital piece of information about his father’s death. Dahlia says that Citadel and NATO were supposed to bomb a terrorist organization in Serbia all those years ago, but instead, they bombed a camp of UN workers and their families that killed 157 people, including Mason’s father. Of course, this would’ve led Dahlia to flip to the other side and exact revenge for Thomas’ death. Dahlia was also terribly affected by the bombing, and physically she became a completely different person, but she still carried the terrible memories of watching as her love died while her son sat in another room, still in grave danger. Dahlia coaxes Mason to use the Citadel secrets he knows to bring down the spy agency that got away with murder, so something like this doesn’t repeat itself. She claims she will share all Citadel agents’ names with the UK High Court in order to open an investigation into the crimes of the spy agency. Mason falls for her act and comprehends too late that she made him a mole that got all his fellow agents killed.
Mason had also sent Bernard to the address in Valencia, where he found out that Nadia had a child. Mason feels awful that she felt like she couldn’t tell him about his own kid and decided not to do anything about it. Because of the huge weight of his guilt, Mason decides to stay with his new family and leave Nadia and Aasha. But he still has plans to destroy Dahlia; maybe he plans on telling Nadia the truth after he’s finished her. On the other hand, Aasha’s grandfather and Bernard are at the mercy of Manticore, and Nadia can possibly rebuild Citadel with them and Carter successfully. Nadia may not know the truth yet, but eventually, they will find out everything that Mason did. The Citadel universe continues to grow, with a new spy arriving next year, but Mason and Nadia’s story is not yet complete. We don’t think Nadia should accept Mason back after the terrible thing he did, but considering the sentimentality of the spies at Citadel, it is possible that she may forgive him enough to be co-workers, at least. We think Bernard possibly knows the truth and has always known it. It is possible Citadel will join hands with Mason for one last thing—getting Dahlia—because she is the common enemy at the end of the day.
